It Worked For Sam
by Blue-Jackal
Summary: This is one for those of us who can't shake the feeling that something has happened to Alex's daughter Molly. Why does Molly appear to Alex frequently in 1981/2? Warning: Not a cheerful fic.


**It worked for Sam...**

"Please drink responsibly" Advised the small print at the bottom of the whiskey bottle label.

The day was grey, damp and drops of rain were beginning to fall from the gathering clouds in the late morning sky.

The raindrops had made the label soggy and the fingers of the bottles owner slowly peeled away scraps of it, revealing that half of the bottle had been consumed. The breeze gently blew the scraps of label away, taking them towards the edge of the roof.

She was unsure just how long she had sat here on this cold spot but what she knew was that she was cold and shivering.

What she didn't know was whether she was right or if she even had the courage to go through with this final act of desperation.

It had been late morning, around 10am, when Alex Drake had caught a cab to what was now her former police staton. In the past Alex would have driven, but the headaches and spells of dizziness that were an unwelcome side effect of the shooting had meant Alex was no longer allowed to drive - Doctors orders.

Her now ex colleagues had greeted her with a mixture of surprise and very carefully chosen words when they had seen her.

Surprise because they hadn't expected to see Alex return to the station, not after an injury like hers. Whether Alex even had a job to return to was still up in the air, but it was looking unlikely.

To return, she would have to pass a medical. And even if she did pass, it would be nothing more than a desk job.

Words were carefully chosen because of the events which had unfolded since the shooting.

It hadn't taken long for Alex to finish the awkward small talk with her now former colleagues, thank them for their best wishes and head off upstairs on the pretence of having left some personal documents in a file. A complete lie but Alex no longer cared.

Her colleagues had been so careful not to mention anything that might upset her but these days it was all Alex could think of.

After the shooting, Alex had lain unconscious for three weeks.

The Doctors had said she was lucky to be alive and that all things considered, she was making very good progress.

But something was missing - the one thing that meant more to Alex than any recovery.

After regaining enough strength to speak, Alex had finally asked a Doctor for the one thing she wanted most in the world.

"Where is Molly?"

Even through the medication induced haze Alex had sensed something wrong in the Doctors body language, even with the way he broke eye contact and looked down - Just like Molly did and her Dad, when the truth was to be avoided.

"All in good time" He had simply replied after an uncomfortable pause before leaving the room.

Several days later, when she had become strong enough to sit up Alex was finally told.

It was broken very gently to her by one of her most respected colleagues that on the day of the shooting Evan had, as Alex knew, been taking Molly home after the hostage incident on the South Bank.

Evan had, during the journey, recieved a brief call on his mobile.

The time of the call matched the approximate time of Alex's shooting - it could only have been Arthur Layton on the phone making his call having taken Alex hostage.

Evan was a careful driver, this Alex knew, only taking calls on his hands free set.

But the scale of the distraction, the threat regarding the truth behind the deaths of Alex's parents, had been enough to take Evan's mind off the road for just a split second.

The police investigation concluded that Evan had failed to see the red light up ahead.

His car had gone past the lights at the busy cross road. Just a second later from the left hand side, a fire engine speeding to a 999 call had smashed into the passenger side of the car pushing it over a hundred yards down the street.

The Doctor and Police officer had explained very gently to Alex that Molly had held on for some time but had finally died two days later from massive injuries. There was nothing anybody could have done.

After that, Alex couldn't remember the next few days. She no longer cared about her injury or her recovery.

Words and cards had all come to her with the best of intentions but her daughter was gone.

"How did I not see it?" Alex cursed herself under her breath from her lonesome spot on the roof.

She had always prided herself on her ability to work mysteries out and solve them. Despite this she now felt the awful weight of guilt that it had never occured to her that her visions of Molly had been an indication that her child was in terrible danger in the 'real' world.

She looked out, full of grief and guilt, over the city as she thought. It was getting colder here up on the roof and Alex rubbed her arms for warmth.

"All those ghostly appearances of Molly" Alex shook her head close to tears, "Why did I not realise that it meant something had happened to you too sweetheart?!"

It was a question Alex had spent many weeks considering and as time had dragged slowly on she had begun to ask herself "What if...?"

"What if that's where you are?" Alex asked herself quietly, "I'm back here when you were slowly seeping into the eighties all along?"

Alex raised a hand and wiped the tears from her face.

Every night she had dreamt of Molly - of her daughter searching for her in 1982 onwards.

It had haunted her both day and night and now Alex had finally decided...this was it, this couldn't go on any longer.

Everything in her 1980's life had had but one goal, one objective...to get back home to Molly.

Now that had been flipped on its head and there was only one thing to do.

Alex took one more swig of whiskey from the bottle before placing it down next to her.

She got to her feet and moved the few steps forward that took her to the raised edge of the roof.

With a small step, Alex stepped up onto the raised edge and briefly looked down.

Her heartbeat was racing with a mixture of fear and sheer desperation as she took a deep breath.

"Alex!!!"

"Alex!!!"

The voice cut into Alex's thoughts and the now former DI paused, distracted.

"Alex wait!" The voice called again.

It was a female voice, sounding both stern yet filled with concern.

"Alex, you remember me?" The voice called, "DI Hanson. I transfered here the week before you were hurt. You showed me around, remember?"

Alex said nothing and stared straight ahead - this was an extremely unwelcome moment for a distraction but Alex realised that someone must have seen her make her way to the roof and raised the alarm.

"Alex" DI Hanson said gently lowering her voice, "Don't do this, please"

Alex sighed. She wouldn't break. If she looked around she would make eye contact with Hanson.

Looking away was providing Alex with an invisible barrier between her and the DI trying to talk her down.

"Alex, I know about your daughter" Hanson began again, "And I'm so sorry for you, but Alex please think - don't do this"

There was silence again as another tear trickled it's way down Alex's cheek and a siren blared in the distance from over the city roofs.

"Would Molly want you to do this Alex?" Hanson asked, "Would she Alex?"

"I have to get back to her" Alex responded without thought "I have to get back to my little girl"

"Alex we're all so sorry for your loss" Hanson said with great sincerity "but please come down You can live FOR your little girl"

"You don't understand" Alex shook her head, "she needs me"

"Alex, you've had a lot to drink" Hanson said taking a very slow pace forward and eyeing the whiskey bottle, "Come on down please, clear your head, you're not thinking rationally"

Again Alex said nothing as she stood shivering on the edge weeping silently.

"Come on Alex" Hanson urged gently, "You've had a lot to deal with, we understand that, come down and we can talk, have a coffee. You're not in any trouble"

Reluctantly Alex turned from where she stood on the edge and faced Hanson.

"None of you can possibly understand!" Alex yelled back with frustration growing in her quivering voice, "I have to get back! It's been done before!"

Alex watched as Hanson took a moment to take in her words and observed as uniformed colleagues kept a respectful distance back as the new DI negotiated.

"There are people who can help Alex" Hanson assured, "You're not alone"

"But Molly is!" Alex said through her tears, "I can't leave her, not again!"

"But why Alex?" Hanson pleaded, "Why go through with this?"

Alex took a deep breath and turned back facing the drop.

"Because it worked for Sam..." Was Alex's last words as she wiped her eyes one final time and took the decisive step forward to the sound of gasps and cries of the officers gathered on the roof.

Name: Alex Drake

Verdict: Suicide

_Big thanks to Gem from the Luigi's forum for beta-ing! :)_


End file.
